Wild Church Southern Indiana

09/05/2026

Seven of us gathered for Wild Church today. The rain had come and gone and the temperature was just in the mid 80s. Some wandered along the river path and others went into the woods at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. Psalm 90 always seems to fit a place where the Devonian Period fossils are on display!

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

09/03/2026

I scouted out the Falls of the Ohio Park today to see what it was like after the waters receded. The fossil beds are visible, but you can’t get to them due to a wall of drift wood. However the trail down by the riverside is open. It was shaded and not too hot at 10 AM. The picnic table area close to the visitors’ center, overlooking the fossil beds, is available and shaded. Looks like there might be rain earlier in the day Saturday that should be gone by 10.

08/29/2026

“Lord how manifold are your works.” (Psalm 104) Yesterday, my bird song ID app said I was listening to a Scissor Grinder Cicada. Silly me… I thought there were just plain cicadas. But no! There are lots and lots of different kinds. Follow this link to read about the common ones in Indiana.

Categories U.S.A. Common cicadas of Indiana Post author By cicadamania Post date April 17, 2016 7 Comments on Common cicadas of Indiana Annual cicadas of Indiana (IN): All cicadas appear every year unless otherwise noted. Cicadettana calliope calliope (Walker, 1850) aka Southern Grass Cicada C. call...

08/15/2026

Our next gathering will be on the banks of the Ohio River at Falls of the Ohio State Park - Saturday September 5 at 10:00 AM. There will be time to wander on a path that goes downriver or go out on the fossil beds.

This gathering is free and open to the public and ALL are welcome to join us. Wild Church will cover the cost of parking. There is no entrance fee for the park, but the museum entrance is a separate fee. The visitors' center will be open for accessible restrooms and water fountains (and gift shop).

What will happen? Wild Church gathers to welcome everyone, then we scatter for a time of individual contemplation of God's Creation and at the end we come together again for a short time of sharing before we part.

DETAILS:

Gather in the parking lot on the side away from the building, near the end of the lot by the river. The park address is 201 W. Riverside Drive Clarksville IN.

We meet rain or shine, however thunder and lightning will cancel.

Wear suitable outdoor clothes, shoes/boots plus sunscreen and bug spray. There are some benches and rocks or bring a portable chair if you want to sit for contemplation.

The fossil bed will be exposed, but a reminder that temperatures rise at least 10 degrees out on the rocks and getting there and back requires some climbing/scrambling with steps and rock outcroppings! We are meeting in the morning before the real heat of the day. There is a gradual paved path part way down for more accessible access.

The trail area by the riverbank is sandy and flat with some rocks and is partially shaded, but this easy trail is not truly accessible to those with mobility challenges. However, there are parts of the park which offer a river view and are accessible.

07/23/2026

I like this guy’s musings along with his art. Here’s one about the interconnected-ness of creation.

(I’m not considering this as a tattoo as he suggests. But you might 🙂.)

can you see the ocean in the lily?

07/18/2026

We gathered for Wild Church today at the Big Four Park at the Jeffersonville Farmers Market. A lovely morning for “people watching”!

Our verse of the day is from Psalm 139:
“14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”

07/16/2026

Reminder that THIS Saturday is our next Wild Church gathering at the Farmers’ Market in Jeffersonville on Saturday July 18th 10:00-11:00! We will meet at Big Four Station Park in Downtown Jeffersonville (by the walking bridge) at the picnic tables.

This is a special edition where we “people watch” and contemplate humankind. You simply find a spot to sit (or walk about) to watch the crowd go by.

Rain or shine event. Restrooms and flat, paved paths available. Of course - come early or stay afterwards and shop, too. Bring a chair or use various benches for your “sit spot”. It can be buggy, so bring repellent spray if you want.

NOTE: We usually meet for Wild Church after lunch but because the market is open in the morning 9-12 we are changing the time to 10:00 AM.

07/11/2026

I’m very excited! I found this truly free site to ID bird calls! It shows you the bird and give you a link to the species in live time. It does layers of calls from various birds at the same time also. It allows me to make sense of the much of the sound I’m hear in nature.

Continuous real-time bird species identification using on-device inference. Built for field researchers, conservationists, and serious birders. It runs the BirdNET+ model directly on your device — no internet required.

07/07/2026

I keep getting ads for this T-shirt. It really makes me laugh! When we talked with kids at Nature Camp about being out in God’s creation for contemplation, we use slightly different words to describe the ways we can encounter God in nature. Instead of using the word “observe”, we used “sense”. In some ways, I think that’s a better word for what we do in Wild Church! We use the five senses – seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting – as we observe the world. Of course, we encourage the kids to look, listen, touch, and even smell things while they were out in nature. But we were sure to tell them not to taste everything they found in the woods! I guess I should’ve bought this shirt😏to wear for Camp.

I encourage you to get out there and use those senses, too.